As you note in your second paragraph, the practice is excluding ALL patients over 250 lbs. Why do you write women over 200 pounds?

I know doctors can accept or refuse any patient but in general this has to happen BEFORE the first visit. The problem in this instance is the patient had already been seen once. While practices can fire patients, there's the risk of med-mal suits and medical board reprimands for patient abandonment. I'm not sure how this will play out well or reasonably. If the practice has a patient who weighs 249 for years and he or she suddenly gains a pound will the doctor say "Get out"? Will the doctor have all patients sign some sort of form stating they won't receive care if they reach the 250 mark?View Thread

I agree with the tech expert who points out the potential security issues (hackers, thieves &c). But the app doesn't even exist yet and likely never will.

"According to the folks of Redpepper, the advertising agency behind the whole setup, they're still "finalizing testing and seeking funding for Facedeals." No word as to how the agency would deal with the wrath of Facebook, which might not be all that happy about the Facedeals name or logo."

I wouldn't call what's covered in this article PDA. In societies where the double-kiss is common, it is no more affectionate than a handshake.

As for people kissing affectionately in public, meh. Provided they don't do anything that would warrant a PG-13 rating, block the sidewalk or stop in the train doors when I'm trying to exit or enter, who cares? I'd rather see people kissing than fighting.View Thread

1. There's a huge gap between an "Adult" or "Adult themed" movie and a PG-13 movie. Some PG-13s are positively benign. I haven't seen this one yet so, I don't know how violent it is and what the nature of the violence is. (No spoilers please!)

2. Surely there was a way to run this piece without bringing in the Aurora shooting.View Thread

I don't think it is accurate to say he spread Hep C on purpose. He was stealing pain killers (a common problem, health care workers regularly get busted for this sort of thing).

What bothered me about that story is the fact that after the guy was caught a bunch of people reported odd behavior on his part. I also can not believe no one ever saw him walk off with a needle and return it. If that wasn't a big red flag, I don't know what was. I have to wonder what the facilities he worked for were like if staff didn't know to say something.

However, I write about health care issues and unfortunately, this is the tip of the iceberg. To my knowledge, in the recent past two medical practices have been busted for reusing things like needles and other medical devices that are supposed to be thrown away after each use. They did it to save money. Result: Lots of people with Hep. C. Then there are problems like improperly sterilized surgical equipment.

But I'm not afraid to go to the hospital. Everyone can protect themselves (and family members) by doing research before they go to a medical practice or facility. Ask friends to suggest a doctor or outpatient facility. Find out if the doctor has ever been up before the medical board, and why. What sort of information can you find out about him or her on the internet? The same goes for a facility. Finally, there's the smell test. If you go into an office or facility, what's it like? Is the staff overworked and grumpy? When you make an appointment is the scheduler courteous? Is the doctor always running late? Is the place clean? If you feel something is "off" leave!View Thread

I don't know if I'd think about the money so much as the amount of pain and suffering the animal would experience during treatment. A couple of years ago my 14yo cat developed injection site sarcoma. It's an incredibly aggressive cancer that shrugs off treatment. I could have gone all out in the hopes she would survive the treatment and recover, but this was an animal that HATED to be handled by strangers and HATED other animals. And she had no way to understand why all of the different things were being done to her, she'd just be sick and in pain and scared. And biting a lot of vets and vet techs. There was no way I could put her through that.

I'm still sad about her death but I'm also glad to say she died in her sleep, without having to be put down. Would I do anything differently? No. But do I think these people went overboard? Again, no. In a way my choice was much easier.View Thread

Thank God I've changed since high school. What a miserable uptight judgmental little twit I was. If I had a time machine I'd be tempted to go back in time and tell younger me to loosen up. (Also, stop dating losers.)

I can also say I was bullied a lot in school and it would never, ever, occur to me to threaten my former classmates. I assumed they've changed as well, and if they haven't, I'd just avoid them.

It is rather sad and it looks like the gentleman has some health issues.View Thread

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